Spaceband storage means for typographical machines



Oct. 23, 1934. H BQRRMANN 1,978,379

SPACEBAND STORAGE MEANS FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL MACHINES Filed Jan. 31, 1934 2 Shets-Sheet l INVENTOR Oct.23, 1934. B RR N 1,978,379

SPACEBAND STORAGE MEANS FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL MACHINES Filed Jan. 31, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INYENTOR Hc/VRY ORE/1 .v

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 23, 1934 UNITED STATES SPACEBAND STORAGE :MEANS. FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL MACHINES Henry Borrmann, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Intertype Corporation, Brooklyn,

poration of New York Application January 31,

N. Y., a cor- 1934, Serial No. 709,230

In Germany August 12, 1933 11 Claims;

The present invention relates to improvements in typographical machines and more especially to those of the general class disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 436,532, granted September 16, 1890, wherein matrices and spacebands are delivered from their respective places of storage in the machineand assembled into lines which aresubsequently presented to a mold and type bars or slugs cast against character bearing edges of the matrices, after which the matrices and spacebands used in the lines are returned to their respective places of storage.

In machines of this class as heretofore constructed, the spacebands are stored in a so-called spaceband box which is permanently mounted in themachine and a supply of spacebands of the required size or thickness placed therein by hand.

When a change in the nature of the composition.

requires a change in the size of the spacebands,

it is necessary for the operator to remove the supply of spacebands in the box by hand and to replace them by another supply of spacebands of a size to suit the change in composition. The frequent handling of the spacebands thus made necessary is not only undesirable in itself but it occasions the loss of much time. The primary object of thepresent invention is to obviate these objections by rendering it unnecessary tohandle the spacebands when a change of size thereof is desired. To accomplish this result, the present invention provides a plurality of spaceband boxes each containing a set or supply of spacebands" of a particular size, one or another of which boxes may be easily and quickly placed in operative position in the machine. The invention thus makes available different sizes or sets of spacebands to suit compositions of different natures, without requiring removal" of one set of spacebands from the box and replacement thereof by another set, or other manual handling of the spacebands, and it affords the further advantage that it avoids mixing of spacebands of the different sizes or sets, as sometimes occurs during handling of the spacebands themselves to change the available size thereof according tothe method heretofore practiced.

To these and .otherends, the invention consists:

in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of this specification. i

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a typographical machine provided with space band storage means embodying the present invention; T

Figure 2 represents a vertical section taken on the line 2- 2 in Fig. l and looking toward the left, the full and dotted lines in this figure representing the different positions of the spaceband storage means for the delivery of'spacebands of one or another size or set;

Figure 3 is an elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a spaceband provided with distinguishing means according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a vertical section through ithe lower portions of the spaceband boxes or compartments shown in Figs. 1 and 2, illustrating the manner in, which the distinguishing means of the spacebands cooperate with the distinguishing members in the respective spaceband boxes;

Figure 5 is a viewsimilar to Fig. l but it illustrates another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a detail section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 6-6 in Fig. 5, showing a spaceband box in cooperative relation with the spaceband releasing means;

Figure 7 is a view of one of the spaceband boxes removed from the machine; and

Figure 8 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 8-3 in Fig. 7, showing the manner inwhich the spacebands are retained in the box and indicating by the dotted lines the manner in which the box is movable into and out of operative relation with the spaceband releasing means in the machine.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the severalfigures.

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings as applied to a typographical machine of the well known class shown and described generally in the patent hereinbefore referred to, 1 designating generally the usual assembling means which assembles the matrices and spacebands in a line and 2 representing the usual assembling elevator in which the line is assembled and which is employed to lift the completed line for transfer to the mold for the casting of a type bar or slug therefrom, in the usual well known manner. The matrices are delivered to the assembling means from a matrix magazine 3 through the usual assembler entrance 4, under control of a keyboard 5, in the usual and Well known manner, and the spacebands, which are of theusual Wedge or expansible type, are delivered by gravity into a posi- -'tion between the assembling means and the "entrance end of the assembling elevator for introduction at the proper'points in the line during its composition. After a cast has been made from a line, the matrices used in the line are returned to the appropriate channels in the magazine from which they were drawn, by the usual distributing mechanism in the machine, and the spacebands used in the line are returned totheir place of storage, through the usual transfer channel 6 which is mounted in fixed position on the main frame of the machine.

According to the present invention as shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, a plurality of sets of spacebands S of different sizes or thickness are stored respectively in a plurality of spaceband boxes, two spaceband boxes '7 and 8 being shown in the present instance, each of these boxes to contain spacebands of one particular size or thickness, the spacebands in one box differing in size or thickness from those in the other box. Each of these spaceband boxes is provided with rails 9 and 10 for suspending the spacebands therein by their usual outwardly turned lugs or ears 8, these rails being inclined downwardly for the delivery of the spacebands from their lower ends when the spacebands are released and swing into upright position, and each box is provided with a chute 11 or 12 which leads downwardly from the delivery end of the respective box for directing the spacebands released therefrom to a position for assembling into the line by the assembling means. Each box is also provided with means for releasing spacebands for delivery therefrom, such releasing means comprising releasing pawls 13 and 14 mounted to reciprocate in the sides of the respective boxes so that they may project into the paths of the spacebands therein or may be retracted therefrom, these pawls being actuated by rock shafts l5 and 16 rotatably mounted on the respective boxes and having arms 1'7 and 18 engaging the respective pawls for actuating them and having actuating levers l9 and 20 on their outer ends, one or the other of which is adapted to be brought into operative relation with a fork 21 on the usual spaceband box lever 22, the latter being actuated by the keyboard mechanism of the machine in the usual manner under control of the usual key 23, the lever 22 being normally held in its raised or inactive position by a spring 24, but its forked end will be lowered by the action of the keyboard mechanism under control of the key 23.

According to the present invention, the spaceband boxes '7 and 8 are located one beside the other and they are connected together so that they in effect constitute a unit, and the boxes are mounted in the machine to shift laterally or T horizontally so that one or the other of the boxes ears s and to bring the actuating lever 19 or 20 for the releasing pawl of the respective box into operating relation with the lever 22 and the chute 11 or 12 into position to direct a spaceband released from such box to the assembling point where it will be introduced into the line in course of composition. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the boxes are supported to slide onhorizontal rails 2'7 which are fixed in a part of the stationary frame of the machine and the boxes are also provided with a horizontal guide tongue 28 which is slidable in a horizontal guide 29 formed in the adjacent end of the stationary channel 6, the

boxes being thus supported and guided so that they are movable as a unit laterally and horizontally so that one or the other of the boxesmay be brought into operative position, the boxes being preferably provided with a knob or handle 30 by which the operator may conveniently effect such shifting movements of the boxes. Such shiftable mounting of the spaceband boxes enables the box '7 to be brought into operative position by movement of the boxes rearwardly or into the full line position shown in Figure 2, this box then being in position to receive spacebands from the channel 6 and having its releasing lever 19 in position for actuation by the fork 21 of the lever 22, and shifting of the boxes forwardly or into the dotted line position shown in Figure 2 will bring the box 8 into operative position, this box being then in a position to receive spacebands from the channel 6 and its releasing lever 20 will be in actuating relationwith the fork 21 of the lever 22, it being understood that the levers l9 and 20 extend horizontally or parallel to the direction of shift of the boxes so that when the latter are shifted in either direction, the releasing lever for one box will move out of operating relation with the fork 21 and the actuating lever for the other box will move into operating relation with said fork. It will also be understood that the shifting movement of the boxes will bring the chute on the respective box into position directly above the assembling point so that it will direct spacebands dropping therethrough into position for assembling into the line.

When one or the other of the spaceband boxes is in operative position, rocking of the lever 22 to effect the release of a spaceband will lower the fork 21 thereon, thereby swinging the lever 19 or 20 then in actuating relation therewith downwardly whereby the releasing pawl 13 or 14 of the respective box will be retracted, thus permitting a spaceband to be released and delivered from the respective box, rise of the forked end of the lever 22 under the action of the spring 24 rev turning the releasing pawl to its normal spaceband retaining position, the spaceband released from the box in operative position being properly directed to the assembling point by the chute of this box, and since the box in operative position will register with the channel 6, it will receive spacebands returning through this channel.

In order to facilitate the placing of one or the other of the boxes in operative position and to yieldingly retain the same therein, one of the rails 27' is preferably provided with notches 31 and 32 with which a spring pressed pawl 33 may cooperate, these notches being spaced toaccord with the different positions of the boxes when one or the other is in operative position although permitting the boxes to be shifted when suffi cient force is applied to the knob 30.

By supplying the boxes 7 and 8 with spacebands of different sizes or thicknesses, spacebands of one or another size or thickness may be easily and quickly made available as may be required by changes in the nature of the composition of the lines, by shifting the boxes in the manner described to bring one or the other thereof into operative position. While two'exchangeable spaceband boxes are shown in the present instance, it will be obvious that a greater number of exchangeable spaceband boxes maybe employed if such is desired.

In order to prevent mixing of spacebands of one size and belonging in one box with those of another size and belonging in the other box, the spacebands and the boxes are preferably provided with distinguishing means which will enablesuch mixing to be avoided. Preferably the ness inthe diflferent sets.

set of spacebands of one set andbelonging in one of the boxes are each provided witlra notch 5' located in the side edge of its wedge at a given.

height thereon, and the setof spacebands of the other set belonging in the other box are each.

provided in the side edge of its wedge at a dif- \ferent height thereon with a notch s these notches being at thesame height in the'spacebands belonging to each set butwbeing at rela- M 1 tively different heights in the spacebandsazof the different sets. Each spaceband box is provided near its entrance end with a pin or other suit able distinguishing member 34 or which projects inwardly from a side thereof at different heights corresponding to the different heights of the distinguishing notches in the spacebands belonging in the respective boxes, the distinguish ing member34 for example being provided in the box 7 and being at a height toregister with the distinguishing notches s in the spacebands belonging in that box so that such spacebandswill pass thedistinguishing member 34, and the distinguishing member 35 in the box 8 being located. at a height to register with the distinguishing.

ber therein and its entrance into the box will be prevented, as indicated in Figure 1, and removal of such wrong spaceband from the box will prevent the mixing of such wrong spaceband with.

other spacebands in the box. a

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 5 to 8 inclusive, a plurality of separatespacebandboxes 107 and 108 are provided which may be selectively and exchangeably mounted in operative position in the machine for individual use, each of these boxes carrying a set or supply of spacebands which are of the same size or thickness each set but are of different sizes or thick- According to this embodiment of the invention, a support is mounted in fixedposition. in the machine at the spaceband receiving end of the channel 6, this support having a spaceband chute 111 fixed thereto and extending downwardly to direct the spacebands to a position for assembling in the line by the assembling means 1. This stationary support also has mounted therein a spaceband releasing pawl 113 which otherwise corresponds with the spaceband releasing pawl 13 or 14 in Figures 1 and 2 and may be actuated by the usual keyboard controlled spaceband releasing means or by a keyboard actuated lever such as that shown in Figure 1 except that such lever will remain in operative relation with the releasing pawl 113. Each of the separate boxes, which are of the same size and shape, is adapted to be exchangeably mounted on the support 40, each of these boxes for example being slidable laterally into operative position on the support 40 and having a horizontally extending guiding tongue 109 or 110 to slidably engage a horizontal guide 129 formed in the adjacent end of the stationary channel 6, and latches or pivoted retaining members 114 and 115 may be provided on the support 40 and channel 6 to retain one or the other of the boxes in operative position. Since each of the boxes is made separately and is individually available for selection by the operator and placing in operative position in the machine and the releasing pawl 113 which serves as a common means for releasing spacebands from one or another of the boxesis located permanently in the machine, eachbox is provided with a retaining member which serves. to retain the spacebands within the respective box upon removal thereof from the machine and also to maintain the spacebands at the proper inclination for registry with the retaining face of the releasing pawl 113 when one or anotherof the boxes isplaced in the machine"; Such retaining member. for each box comprises-in the present instance a plunger .116 or 117 which is movable inwardly into retaining relation with the spacebands when the box is to beremoved fromithemachine, as shown in Figure 8, and is retractible from the path of the spacebands when the box is placed in the machine as shownin Figure 6, a spring. pressed ball 118 or 119 'being provided for retaining the plunger in one orthe'other of these positions. The plunger in each instance has its inner end so shaped as to engage the foremost spaceband in the box while the latter is in position to rest against the releasing pawl 113,50 that the plunger may be moved into itsspaceband retaining position without obstruction when a box is to be removed from a machine, and when a box is placed in the machine, the. plunger will position the foremost spaceband to rest against the releasing pawl 113. In order to retain the upper ends of the spacebands in proper position in each box while the latteris removed from the machine, each box is provided adjacent to its delivery point with a.

plate 120 or 121 against which the upper end of the foremost spaceband in the box may rest, this 1 plate forming a continuation of the wall of the delivery chute 111 when the respective box is placed in. operative position in the machine. When one or another of the magazines is placed in operative position in the machine, retraction of the releasing pawl 113 will release the foremost spaceband and the latter may then swing into the chute 111 and discharge by gravity downwardly therein to the assembling point for assemblyinto the line, and such box will be positioned to receive spacebands returning through the channel 6. Assuming the different boxes contain sets of spacebands of diiierent sizes or thicknessesyspacebands of a desired size or thickness to suit one or another kind of composition may be readily made available by selecting a box containing spacebands of the desired size or thickness and mounting it in operative position in the machine.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 5 to 8 inclusive, the sets of spacebands of different sizes and their respective boxes may, if desired, be provided with distinguishing means as shown in Figures 3 and 4 for the purpose of preventing the inadvertent delivery of an improper spaceband to the box in active use.

The invention, in each embodiment thereof shown and hereinbefore described, provides a plurality of spaceband boxes each to contain a set or supply of spacebands of a particular size or thickness, one or another of which boxes may be easily and quickly placed exchangeably in a common operative position in the machine to cooperate with spaceband releasing means therein and to deliver spacebands to the assembling means for assembling into the matrix lines in process of composition, whereby spacebands of different sizes or thicknesses are made readily available to the compositor to suit the natures of difierent compositions. Since the different spaceband boxes are each supported in a common operative position in the'machine, the distance through which the spacebands drop to reach the assembling point and hence thetime 5 required for the spacebands to reach such point is not altered but is the same for each box while the same is in use, and therefore the proper relative timing-of the travel of the spacebands and matrices to the assembling point is not disturbed. Moreover, since each box contains a set or supply of spacebands of a particular size belonging therein and the spacebands are returned to'the proper box after use in the lines, manual handling of the spacebands, which is objectionable, is obviated, and mixing of spacebands of one size or set belonging in one box withthose of another size or set belonging in another box, is unlikely to occur. By employing the distinguishing means for the spacebands and boxes, as provided by the present invention, such mixing of the spacebands is precluded.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a typographical machine having line assembling means therein, aplurality of spaceband 5 boxes to contain relatively different sets of spacebands and one or another of which boxes is movable exchangeably into operative'position to deliver spacebands to said assembling means.

2. In a typographical machine having spaceband releasing means therein, a plurality of spaceband boxes to contain different sets of spacebands, one or another of which boxes is capable of being placed exchangeably in a common position in operative relation with said releasing means.

3. In a typographical machine having line assembling means and spaceband releasing means, guide means on the machine, and a plurality'of spaceband boxes to contain different sets of spacebands and one or another of which boxes .ismovable on said guide means into and out of a position in operative relation with said releasing means for the delivery of matrices to the line assembling means. I 4. In a typographical machine having "spaceband releasing means therein, a plurality of spaceband boxes supported for movement relatively to said releasing means to bring one or another of said boxes into operative relation therewith.

igovsmc 5. In a typographical machine having spaceband releasing means therein, a plurality of spaceband boxes located one beside the other and supported for movement horizontally to bring one or another of said boxes into operative relation with said releasing means.

'6.-'In a typographical machine having spaceband releasing means therein, a plurality of connected spaceband boxes mounted one beside the other for movement laterally as a unit to'bring one or another of said boxes into operative relationwith said releasing means.

7. In a typographical machine having line assembling means therein, a plurality of spaceband boxes mounted one beside the other above said assemblingmeans for lateral movement horizontally to bring one or another of said boxes into a commonposition for delivery of spacebands to said assembling means.

8. In a typographical machine having line assembling means therein, spaceband releasing means in the machine, and means for exchangeably mounting a spaceband box in a position for release of spacebands therein by said releasing means and for delivery of the spacebands therefrom to said assembling means.

9. In a typographical machine, spaceband re leasing means mounted therein, a spaceband box having means for retaining spacebands therein,

and means for removably supporting said box in spaceband boxes of similarform but adapted to 3'1 contain different sets of spacebands, and means for exchangeably supporting one or another of said boxesin position to control'the release of spacebands therein by said releasing means.

11. In a typographical machine, spaceband re- The leasing means mounted therein, a spaceband box removably cooperative with said releasing means, and a retractible member in said box to retain spacebands therein when said box is removed from cooperative relation with said releasing means.

HENRY BORRMANN. 

